Pop superstar Rihanna delivered a power-packed performance at the Super Bowl 2023 halftime show at State Farm Stadium in the American city of Glendale in Arizona on 12 February.
The show was historic since it marked Rihanna’s first Super Bowl performance and her return to the stage following her collaboration with DJ Khaled on “Wild Thoughts” at the Grammy Awards in 2018.
Super Bowl 2023, or Super Bowl LVII, was played between National Football League (NFL) teams Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Highlights of Rihanna’s performance at Super Bowl 2023
What songs did Rihanna sing during the halftime show?
Rihanna performed some of the greatest hits she has recorded in her 17-year-long career within approximately 13 minutes duration of the halftime show.
Her solo performance started with a rendition of her single “Bitch Better Have My Money” while suspended from a floating platform with some dancers performing beneath it. Some other dancers joined on multiple suspended platforms next to Rihanna’s.
The star followed her first song up with “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl (In the World),” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Wild Thoughts,” “All of the Lights,” “Run This Town,” “Umbrella” and “Diamonds” in quick succession.
Everything. @Rihanna #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/shK5n9wCcN
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
She did not perform her Academy Award-nominated song “Lift Me Up” from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
The 34-year-old superstar was dressed head-to-toe in red. She put on a jumpsuit over a skintight catsuit and paired it up with red Salomon sneakers.
Among those watching Rihanna perform were her partner A$AP Rocky and Adele.
ASAP Rocky is everyone watching @Rihanna 🥺 #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/pG6DWRL7ch
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
After the show ended, Rihanna’s representatives confirmed to multiple media houses that the star is pregnant with her second child.
Why did Rihanna never perform at the Super Bowl before?
Rihanna was asked to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2019 but she declined as many stars, including herself, stood in solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The NFL star was blacklisted for kneeling during the American national anthem in protest of police brutality.
Woodstock Music Festival 2023 Is Happening In South Korea, Here Are The Details!
Who else performed during Super Bowl 2023?
The American national anthem was performed by country music icon Chris Stapleton, an eight-time Grammy Award winner, before the game. Academy Award winner Troy Kotsur, a native of Arizona, performed the national anthem in American Sign Language.
Babyface, who has won the Grammys 12 times, sang “America the Beautiful” while Emmy-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
(Main and Featured images: Courtesy of NFL/@NFL/Twitter)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India
